It has been predicted that one out of every six American men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. See, American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2008. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2008. Despite recent advances in both prostate cancer detection and treatment, it remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among the American male population.
Anti-DNP antibodies are readily present in high concentrations of the human bloodstream. See Ortega, E.; Kostovetzky, M.; Larralde, C. Mol. Immun. 1984, 21, 883. A number of cancer-related, antibody directing small molecules having been synthesized. See, Lu, et al., Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 2004, 56, 1161; Lu, et al., Mol. Pharmaceut. 2007, 4, 695; Carlson, et al., ACS Chem. Bio. 2007, 2, 119; and Popkov, M.; Gonzalez, B.; Sinha, S. C.; Barbas, C. F., III. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 2009, 1.
The present invention is directed to the design and synthesis of a new small-molecule capable of redirecting endogenous anti-dinitrophenyl (DNP) antibodies selectively to prostate cancer cells, and inducing antibody-directed, cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
When prostate cancer is diagnosed prior to metastasis, the patient has a greater then 99% chance of survival. The most successful means for treating prostate cancer at this stage is a radical prostatectomy. Unfortunately, this surgery carries with it the risk of severing nerves and blood vessels associated with sexual organs and the bladder, and can potentially result in impotency or incontinency. Radiation therapy is yet another commonly used procedure that carries the risk of impotency. Half the patients who undergo radiation therapy for prostate cancer become impotent within 2 years of treatment. In addition to the adverse affects associated with these procedures, they are significantly less effective in patients whose cancer has already delocalized or metastasized on diagnosis. In these cases, patients generally undergo even more invasive procedures such as hormonal therapy or chemotherapy. Unfortunately, most patients eventually stop responding to hormonal therapy and the most successful chemotherapeutic, Taxotere, only prolongs the life of advanced prostate cancer patients by 2.5 months on average.
As another alternative therapeutic, monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based immunotherapy has proven clinically beneficial for cancer patients while allowing them to maintain a good quality of life. These antibodies can either regulate proliferation of cancer cells through the manipulation of signal transduction, or promote cytotoxicity. Two examples of FDA-approved mAb-based anticancer drugs are Herceptin and Rituxan (Rituximab), which are currently being used for the treatment of breast cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, respectively. While there are no mAb-based therapeutics currently available for prostate cancer patients, advanced clinical studies on mAb-based immunotherapy has shown promise for the treatment of prostate cancer including advanced prostate cancer. Despite the major advantages of mAb-based immunotherapy, there are significant pitfalls which may limit its potential. In general, mAb-based therapeutics are highly costly ($70,000 for full course of treatment of Herceptin), lack oral bioavailability, and can lead to severe and often fatal side-effects. For example, Herceptin is associated with heart problems and cannot be administered to approximately 10% of cancer patients because of heart-related complications. Rituxan can cause several side-effects which include renal failure, infections and immune and pulmonary toxicity.
Although still in its infancy, the concept of using small molecules to template the human immune response has shown realistic potential. Recent reports have surfaced in which small molecules have been used to direct antibodies to cancerous cells such as breast carcinoma cells, melanoma cells, and nasopharyngeal epidermal carcinoma cells. Animal studies have demonstrated that these molecules can promote tumor rejection and antitumor immunity in mice. Because this process allows for the direction of endogenous antibodies selectively to the cell of interest, it has the potential to harness the power of mAb-based therapeutics while limiting the costs and side effects associated with administering exogenous antibodies. By developing similar methods which recruit anti-DNP antibodies to prostate cancer cells, the proposed research will help broaden this field while creating a new therapy for all forms of prostate cancer.